This blogger remembers nephew Ben reading Where the Wild Things Are back in the late '60s and being fascinated by what seemed to be a very different, much more interesting, kind of book than I'd been used to as a kid just a few years before.

And, of course, it was among the books I later read to my children — along with In the Night Kitchen and other of Sendak's works.

We've asked on NPR's Facebook page for folks to share their memories. Within just a few minutes, they were pouring in. Such as this, from Lauren Levato:

"My mother read Wild Things to me as a child, I'm sure the others too, but that's the one I remember most vividly. I remember it being permission to be different, to go out seeking. I'm now an artist myself, and seek every day. As an adult my favorite book is 'An Open House for Butterflies' because I draw insects and tell insect stories now."

Share your thoughts and memories in our comments thread or over on the Facebook page. We'll pull some out and share them in this post as the day continues.

Update at 12:30 a.m. ET. "Part Of Our Family Vocabulary":

On Facebook, Nicole Magnuson says:

"My daughter and I read In the Night Kitchen so many times that we could recite it wherever we were — in the car, at the park...she turns 15 today, and there are still phrases from Sendak books that have become part of our family vocabulary."